The Dakotas (TV series)
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| The Dakotas | |
|---|---|
| Genre | western |
| Starring | Larry Ward Jack Elam Chad Everett Mike Greene |
| Theme music composer | Harold Levey and Kenneth S. Webb[1] |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 19 aired (20 produced) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
William T. Orr |
| Producer(s) | Anthony Spinner |
| Supervising producer(s) |
Jules Schemer |
| Location(s) |  California |
| Running time | 60 mins. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Picture format | 1.33 : 1 monochrome |
| Audio format | monaural |
| First shown in | Mondays at 7:30pm |
| Original run | 7 January 1963 – 13 May 1963 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Cheyenne |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
The Dakotas is a western television series featuring Jack Elam and broadcast by ABC during 1963. The short-lived show is a spin-off of Cheyenne, the first hour-long western in American television history. The series is perhaps most notable for the fact that it was cancelled one week after heavy viewer protest over an objectionable scene.
The series follows the efforts of Federal Marshal Frank Ragan (Larry Ward) and his three deputies, J.D.Smith (Jack Elam), Vance Porter (Mike Greene) and Del Stark (Chad Everett) as they try to keep order in the Dakota Territory during the Gilded Age.
[edit] Series history
All four characters initially appeared in an April, 1962 episode of Cheyenne called "A Man Called Ragan".
However, the degree to which this episode makes The Dakotas a spin-off of Cheyenne is debatable. In the pilot on Cheyenne, the titular character of Cheyenne Bodie never appears. Also, the episode had followed five consecutive weeks of Bronco episodes, broadcast as a part of the wheel series that Cheyenne had effectively become. Moreover, the length of time between pilot and series—almost eight months—further weakened the link between Cheyenne and The Dakotas.[2] The biggest tip-off to viewers as to the show's parentage was probably that it had assumed the Monday 7:30pm time slot previously occupied by Cheyenne since 1959.
The program would only last there long enough to finish out Cheyenne's abbreviated seventh season. When viewers saw the 18th episode, "Sanctuary at Crystal Springs", they were shocked by a scene that depicted the lawmen killing an outlaw in a church and causing injury to a pastor.[3] Calls for The Dakotas to end its run were answered virtually overnight. After just one more episode, the show was pulled. A 20th episode had been completed, but was never shown.[4]
[edit] External links
[edit] References
"The Boys Western Television and Film Annual" (Purnell & Sons Ltd 1963)
- ^ The Dakotas at classicthemes.com
- ^ Cheyenne at Classic TV Archives
- ^ TV.com entry for "Sanctuary at Crystal Springs"
- ^ The Dakotas at Classic TV Archive
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